Garment protector



March 21, 1944. E. G. MULLEN GARMENT PROTECTOR Filed June 27, 1940 IN VENT OR. EL/N/E'E G. ML/LLEN ATTORNEYS.

Patented 21, 1944 v 2.344,"! Gammrno'rsc'roa Eunice G. Mullen, Pasco, was. Application June 2'1, 1940, Serial No. 342,682

30laims.

This invention relates to garment protectors, commonly termed dres shields, such as used to prevent a garment from being soiled by perspiration exuded by the wearer thereof.

An object of the invention is to provide a shield which is simple and cheap to manufacture and which, therefore, may be thrown away after a single day's use.

Another object is to provide a shield that while thin and unobtrusive will have ample absorbent andprotective qualities as compared with other shields.

Another object is to provide a shield that can be quickly attached to the garment without sewing, pins, clips, or the like; yet the shield may be instantly removed from the garment.

Another object is to provide a shield having a suitable deodorant incorporated therein.

A further object is to provide as an improved article of manufacture the dress-shield herein described, having inner surfaces covered with adhesive and these in turn being covered by protective sheets removable when it is desired to apply the shield to a garment.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from a perusal of the following specification and drawings, but it will be evident that changes can be made in the construction herein disclosed by way of illustration, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Dress shields of-the type to which this invention relates are commonly placed in the arm holes of women's dresses where the sleeves join the body so as to lie below the armpit of the wearer, in order that perspiration will not be absorbed by the dress in this region. Such shields of suitable dimensions are also used to extend over and protect the crotch-portion of bloomers and other nether garments.

Heretoiore such shields have been attached to the garment by sewing them in place. Obviously this requires time, a needle and thread, and some knowledge and experience to properly fit the shield in place.

To obviate the above difficulties, pins or clips have been used. These are objectionable as they must be worn under the armpits of the wearer and next to the skin and, being of metal, corrode due to perspiration and often discolor the garment. Also, there is a tendency for such devices to loosen and permit the shield to be displaced.

In some instances, shields have been attached to the garment by applying a layer of guttapercha or other similar adhesive material that (Cl. H3)

will soften when heated, to the inner faces of the shield and then pressing same in place on the garment by a hot iron, the adhesive setting when it cools and therby securing the shield to the garment. This method is first open to the objection that a hot iron is necessary, and, therefore. the shields cannot be changed when an iron is not ava lable, and, secondly, the shields are more or less permanently secured to the garment, heat being necessary to detach them, much of the adhesive remaining on the garment.

Adhesives of this nature requiring heat for their application, soon penetrate the fabric of the garment and cause unsightly stains and discolorations that are highly objectionable. Light fabrics are often torn when attempting to detach shields secured thereto by this method which experience has shown is not suitable where it is desired to change shields frequently, as is usually the case.

The present invention eliminates the foregoing diiliculties and provides a shield that is readily attached and detached with a minimum of labor. requiring no. sewing, pins, clips, heat or skill on the part of the user. In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective-view of a shield em'- bodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of one-half of theshield, Figure 1, showing the various layers or parts of which it is composed; and

Figure 3 is a sectional exploded view on the line 3-4 of Figure 2.

First, it will be understood that any suitable material having the necessary characteristics as hereinafter set forth can be used to construct these improved shields. Where a one-use shield is desired, it isnecessary that it be very cheap. Where a washable shield is required, suitable fabrics may be used. Therefore, reference will be made herein to both paper and fabric, and it will be understood that either can be used depending upon the use to which the shield is to be put and the desired cost limit to be main tainm'l- The numeral ll denotes an outer layer of porous paper or cloth. If the latter, cheese-cloth or any other suitable open-mesh cloth can beused. If paper, it can have numerous small perforations; and with either material, the essential feature is to remember that this material contacts the skin of the user and should be of a soft non-irritating character and readily permit the passage of perspiration to the absorptive layer.

This absorptive layer ll may be of crepe or bibulous paper, or a cloth having absorptive capacityto absorb a predetermined amount of perspiration; a cotton-batting sheet or one of cellulose fibre may be used. This sheet may be sprinkled with a suitable powdered deodorant, or moistened with a liquid deodorant, so that any I odor of perspiration will be destroyed upon the so-called Scotch tape" or Masking tape," and is-of a character-that it remains permanently sticky or "tacky." Such adhesives are incommon use and require no moisture or heat when using; they act as adhesives at ordinary atmospheric temperatures as distinguished from substances that require the application of artificial heat. The opposed surfaces of each fiap of the shield being coated with adhesive, they may be brought together and .so left until separated for use. This,

however, is not desirable for several reasons.-

First, with age the flaps may permanently stick together; secondly, they are difllcult for the unskilled to separate; and, thirdly. a more desirable type of adhesive can be used when the following procedure is followed:

Against the outer surface of the adhesive, on at least one side of the shield, is placed a temporary cover sheet I having an outwardly projecting tab or ear I! for a purpose to be presently described. This sheet prevents the sides of a shield from sticking together until the cover sheet is removed, as hereinafter referred to. Preferably two cover sheets are 'used when said sheets are applied to the adhesive.

If desired, sheet I! can be eliminated and a suitable moisture-repellant coating placed on the outer surface of sheet I. This moisture-repellarrt coating could also form the adhesive l3 above referred to. Obviously, the moisture-repeilant coating just referred to, or the equivalent sheet I! can be omitted altogether and the adhesive applied directly to the inner face of sheet I i.

It is immaterial how many layers or sheets of material are vused provided that the shields have (a) an outside layer suitable to lie next to the skin, and (b) are absorptive and (c) are coated with a suitable adhesive so they can be attached to a garment. Obviously a large number of arrangements can be made without departing from these essentialfeatures.

The foregoing describes one-half the complete shield shown in Figure 1. The halves are joined along their arcuate upper portions in any suitable manner, either by stitching or cementing, and so as to have as little thickness at this point as possible. After being Joined, if an inside seam is used, theycan be folded on their line of juncture to the position shown in Figure 1. The outer layer or sheet II can be turned over as shown at II to give a finished edge around the bottom edge of both sides of the shield.

Each shield, therefore, comprises a pair of opposed ilaps having adhesive on their opposed faces, and these shields may be packed for shipment and carried in stock without danger of their adhering together as the adhesive coatings are covered by the sheets I.

When it is desired to use a shield, the tab A is pulled, thereby peeling off the cover sheet I and exposing the adhesive below same. The shield is now inserted in the garmentfor example, in the arm-hole of a dress with the exposed adhesive against the sleeve, the mark I! on the shield overlying the under-arm seam. The shield is pressed down firmly in place.

The tab B is now pulled and the above process repeated with the other side of the shield, which is pressed to and secured on the dress. Thus both sides of the shieldare secured in place.

Instead of the sheets M actually adhering to the adhesive, these sheets can merely be laid thereagainst and be of waxed paper or the like so as to merely separate the coated tacking surfaces of the shield without actually sticking thereto.

To remove the shield from the garment, it is only necessary to carefully separate it from the fabric thereof. Because of the nature of the adhesive, neither heat nor moisture are necessary and but little ii any of the adhesive remains on the fabric. Shields may be repeatedly placed in and removed from a garment in this manner without sewing, pins or clips, and are securely held in place while in use.

What is claimed is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a dress shield composed of a .pair of substantially crescentshaped fiaps joined together along their concave edges, each flap including an absorbent element and having an adhesive coating on its underside for adhering said shield to a garment, material between said flaps normally adhered to and covering said adhesive coatings and readily separable therefrom, whereby after one of said flapsis separated from said material and properly positioned and secured in the garment without interference by the coating on the other fl'ap, said material may then be removed from said other flap and the latter secured in said garment while guided by the then first secured flap.

2. As an article of manufacture, a dress shield composed of a pair of substantially crescentshaped flaps joined together along their con- I cave edges, each flap including an absorbent element and having an adhesive coating on its underside for adhering said shield to a i 'ment, individual sheets covering said adhesive coatings and separately removable, whereby after one sheetis removed and its flap properly positioned and secured in the garment without interference by the coating on the other flap, the other sheet may be removed and said last-mentioned ilap secured in said garment while guided by the then secured first flap.

3. A dress shield according to claim 2 wherein each of said sheets is provided with a tab projecting beyond the marginal edge of the corresponding absorbent element to facilitate removal of the sheet.

EUNICE G. MULLER. 

